< Ezekiel 48 >

1 “Here is a list of the tribes of Israel [and the territory that each tribe is to receive]: [The tribe of] Dan will be allotted land at the northern boundary [of Israel]: It will extend east from the Mediterranean Sea east to Hethlon [city], then from there to Hamath Pass, and on to [the town of] Hazar-Enan south of Damascus, between Damascus and Hamath. The tribe of Dan will receive land on the northern border [of Israel] from the eastern end [of the country] west to the [Mediterranean] Sea.
This is a list of the allocations according to the names of the tribes. At the northern frontier, Dan's allocation borders the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extends from the eastern boundary of the country to that on the west.
2 South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Asher.
Asher's allocation borders that of Dan from east to west.
3 South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Naphtali.
Naphtali's allocation borders that of Asher from east to west.
4 South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Manasseh.
Manasseh's allocation borders that of Naphtali from east to west.
5 South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Ephraim.
Ephraim's allocation borders that of Manasseh from east to west.
6 South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Reuben.
Reuben's allocation borders that of east to west.
7 South of their land will be the territory [for the tribe] of Judah.
Judah's allocation borders that of Reuben from east to west.
8 South of their land will be an area set apart for special use. The temple will be in the center of that area.
Adjacent to Judah's allocation, from east to west, is the special area you are to make provision for. It is to be 25,000 cubits wide, and extend the same length as a tribal allocation from east to west. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it.
9 It must be (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (6.7 miles/10.6 km.) wide.
The special allocation you make is for the Lord and shall be 25,000 cubits by 10,000 cubits.
10 For the priests, there must be a strip of land (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (3.3 miles/5.3 km.) wide. The temple will be in the center of that area.
This is to be the holy allocation for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north and south sides, and 10,000 cubits wide on the west and east sides. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it.
11 That area is for the priests who are descendants of Zadok. They are ones who served me faithfully and did not turn away from me, like most of the descendants of Levi and the other Israeli people did.
It is for the holy priests, descendants of Zadok, who stayed faithful and did not abandon me when the Israelites abandoned me.
12 When the land is distributed, that area must be given to the priests; it is land that is very sacred. It will be next to the land that will be given to the other descendants of Levi.
It will be a special part of the land provided for them, a most holy allocation next to that of the Levites.
13 The land that will be allotted to the [other] descendants of Levi will be the same size as the land allotted to the priests. So together, those two portions of land will be (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (6.6 miles/10.6 km.) wide.
The Levites shall have an area 25,000 cubits by 10,000 cubits adjacent to the allocation of the priests. Its entire length will be 25,000 cubits, and its width 10,000 cubits.
14 None of this special land will ever be permitted to be sold or traded or used by other people, because it belongs to me, Yahweh. It is set apart for me.
They are not permitted to sell exchange or transfer any of it, for it is the best part of the land and is holy to the Lord.
15 The rest [of that sacred area, a strip of land] (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) long and (1.7 miles/2.65 km.) wide will be allotted for other people to use. It will be land where they will be permitted to build homes and have pasturelands. There will be a city at the center.
The remainder, 5,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits, is for ordinary use by the city for houses and pastureland. The city will be in the middle of it,
16 The city will be square, (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) on each side.
and this will be its measurements: 4,500 cubits on all sides, north, south, east, and west.
17 Around the city there will be an area for farming, that will be (150 yards/135 meters) in each direction.
The city's pastureland will surround it for 250 cubits on all sides, north, south, east, and west.
18 Outside the city, to the east and to the west, there will be a farming area. It will extend (3 miles/4.8 km.) to the east and (3 miles/4.8 km.) to the west. [Men who work there] will produce food for the people who work in the city.
What remains of the land bordering the holy allocation and running beside it will be 10,000 cubits on both the east side and the west side. The crops it produces will provide food for those who work in the city.
19 [Some of] those who come from the various Israeli tribes to work in the city may also work on the farmland.
These workers who farm the land will be from all the Israelite tribes.
20 That entire special area, including the sacred lands and the city, will be a square that is (8.3 miles/13.3 km.) on each side.
The whole allocation will be a square, 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. You are to make provision for the holy allocation, together with the area for the city.
21 The areas to the east and to the west of the sacred area and the city will belong to the king. One area will extend east to the eastern boundary of Israel and the other will extend west to the Mediterranean Sea. The sacred area in which the temple is located will be in the middle.
The land that remains on both sides of the holy allocation and of the area for the city will belong to the prince. This land will be next to the tribal allocations and extend east from the 25,000 cubits of the holy section to the eastern border, on the other side west from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. In the middle of them will be the holy section and the Temple sanctuary.
22 The area that belongs to the king will be between the land [of the tribe] of [to the north] and the land [of the tribe] of Benjamin [to the south].
The Levites area and the city's area will lie in the middle of the prince's allocation, and will lie between the borders of the allocations of Judah and Benjamin.
23 South of that special area, each of the other tribes must be allotted one portion of land that extends from the eastern [boundary of Israel] west [to the Mediterranean Sea]. [Beginning at the north] will be land for [the tribe of] Benjamin.
These are the allocations for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin's allocation extends from the eastern boundary of the country to that on the west.
24 South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Simeon.
Simeon's allocation borders that of Benjamin from east to west.
25 South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Issachar.
Issachar's allocation borders that of Simeon from east to west.
26 South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Zebulun.
Zebulun's allocation borders that of Issachar from east to west.
27 South of their land will be the territory for [the tribe of] Gad.
Gad's allocation borders that of Zebulun from east to west.
28 The southern boundary of [the tribe of] Gad will extend south from Tamar to the springs at Meribah-Kadesh, and from there [to the west] along the dry riverbed at the border of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
The southern border of Gad's allocation will be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29 That is the land that you must allot to the tribes of Israel, to belong to them permanently. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.”
This is the land you are to allocate for the tribes of Israel to own and pass on as an inheritance. These are their assigned allocations, declares the Lord God.
30 These will be the exits from the city: On the north side, which will be (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long,
These are to be the city exits, starting on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long.
31 there must be three gates; each one will have the name of one of the tribes of Israel. The first one will be named for Reuben, the next for Judah, the next for Levi.
The city gates are to be named after the tribes of Israel. There will be three gates on the north side: the gates of Reuben, Judah, and Levi.
32 On the east side, [also] (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long, will be gates named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.
There will be three gates on the east side, (also 4,500 cubits long): the gates of Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.
33 On the south side, [also] (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long, will be gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.
There will be three gates on the south side, (also 4,500 cubits long): the gates of Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.
34 On the west side, [also] (1.5 miles/2.4 km.) long, will be gates named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.
There will be three gates on the west side, (also 4,500 cubits long): the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.
35 [So] the distance around the city will thus be (6 miles/9.6 km.). And from that time on, the name of the city will be ‘Yahweh Is There’.’
The distance around the outside of the city will be 18,000 cubits. From that day on the name of the city will be “The Lord Is There.”

< Ezekiel 48 >